Maybe, although he goes on to talk about Luton tracks in the next chapter. Maybe Chunn likes to overstate a bit because against the early material I think Luton is more like a band trying to find its feet in writing basic pop songs - where's the enormous power, emotion and insight in Hermit McDermit etc?

quote:

Originally posted by Jaffaman.:
[qb]I forgot to list The Peel Session songs:
I See Red
Mind Over Matter
Semi Detached
Frenzy [/qb]

Were the Peel Sessions part of the Phil Judd/Neil Finn line-up?

quote:

Originally posted by Pengi:
[qb] [QUOTE]Were the Peel Sessions part of the Phil Judd/Neil Finn line-up? [/qb]

Phil had left the band (again) well before the Luton sessions, so I'd say nope. i've never heard anything to suggest he had any involvement with the stuff that went into Frenzy.

Phil left a few months before the sessions at Quest Studios in Luton, and none of his new songs were recorded there or at The Manor for "Frenzy". However, the Phil/Neil Enz live shows of early 1978 did include some songs which were later recorded in Luton:
Betty
Home Comforts
Frenzy

Even Rob Gillies got to play these songs, plus "Abu Dhabi", in rehearsals at Bergen Aan Zee in 1977 before Phil re-joined Split Enz.

Just in case anyone asks, Phil's song "Bergen Aan Zee", which Split Enz played live in 1978, was never studio-recorded... apart from that riff that ended up in "History Never Repeats".

I have always heard the BBC were notorious for reusing and recording over tapes from earlier shows both radio and Television. Thank god someone smuggled out the Small Faces and Move on Colour Me Pop! This could have be the fate of the Enz tapes.
cp

Well to be fair to the BBC, (and getting off topic) back in the 60s and 70s videotape was an extremely expensive re-useable medium. Tapes were literally 1000 pounds. Most things were film or telerecorded (videotape transfered to B&W 16mm film) for overseas sales (due to standard conversions and varying formats, 16mm film was seen as a universal standard, all countries were capable of screening 16mm film, whereas for example the US as 525 line NTSC couldn't broadcast the BBC's 625 line PAL videotape). What rem,ains in the BBC's television archive is mainly 16mm negatives and prints originally used for BBC Enterprises to sell overseas. While not the same as BBC radio, I imagine similar reasons applied, tape stock being expensive and re-useable, plus why bother paying for something to be kept when it was never going to be re-broadcast and there was no commercial option for it. It's easy to see in hindsight with domestic video having been a reality for the last 25 years and CDs and downloaded adio a reality. When this stuff wasn't kept it was back in the days of no domestic video (aside from the very very rich and even then it was extremely uncommon) and low disposable income, some people will remember the days you bought a 45rpm single because you couldn't afford a 33rpm LP let alone a live LP of unknown and in some cases unreleased songs.

quote:

Originally posted by Jaffaman:
The BBC doesn't have tape copies of either 1978 Enz session, nor do they have any documentation

Some gaps have been filled in, document-wise anyway:
From BBC Radio 1's John Peel website:

PEEL SESSIONS
26/09/1978 - Split Enz
TX - 18/10/1978
Producer - Malcolm Brown
Engineer - Ted De Bono
Studio - Maida Vale 6
TRACKLIST
I See Red
Mind Over Matter
Frenzy
Semi-Detached
LINE UP
Malcolm Green (Drums)
Eddy Rayner (Keyboards)
Nigel Griggs (Bass)
Neil Finn (Guitar)
Noel Grombie (Percussion)
Tim Finn (Vocals)

Noel Grombie?

quote:

Studio - Maida Vale 6

Ahh, I was right.

quote:

Originally posted by Jaffaman:
Noel Grombie?

Ha! That made me chuckle. Poor Noel!

Curiously enough I have a friend who's a Noel fan whose surname starts with G but I often goto write it with a C. Curious that it works the other way too.

It sounds like Noel Gumby!